On behalf of its membership, the cross-party LGA regularly submits to Government
consultations, briefs parliamentarians and responds to a wide range of parliamentary inquiries. Our recent
responses to government consultations and parliamentary briefings can be found here.
Thank you for the opportunity to comment on the scope and effectiveness of section 75 arrangements. We have chosen not to answer all 30 specific questions included in the supporting document to the call for evidence. Instead, the high-level views of the LGA about the scope and effectiveness of section 75 financial flexibilities are summarised in paragraphs 5 – 19.
We strongly support a preventative, assets-based approach to health, which recognises that the essential components of good health go far beyond NHS treatment and care. An assets-based approach supports repeople to make healthy choices and enables them to live healthy, independent and productive lives. If they have health and social care needs, our approach is to provide community-based and person-centred care and support which enables them to live independently and live their lives as they choose.
The LGA can see the potential benefits of the Care Workforce Pathway for adult social care but, in order to realise them, consideration must be given to the issues raised below. By working together to address these issues, we are hopeful that the pathway can be a success and deliver some of the changes that are needed to bolster this critical workforce.
The LGA has long highlighted that adult social care exists to enable adults of all ages and with a range of conditions to live their best life and an equal life.
While the LGA welcomes the money to pilot new approaches and build on existing good practice, we question whether the scale of the investment matches the scale of the ambition. Any positive outcomes emanating from the pilots must be given sustainable long-term funding.
The perilous state of adult social care funding, and its serious consequences for people who draw on social care (or may need to do so in the near future), is unquestionable. Recent survey work by the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (ADASS) shows that just 12 per cent of directors are confident that they have the resources required to deliver all of their statutory duties.
This briefing provides an update of the ADASS Advice note 'Carers and Safeguarding Adults' produced in 2011 for frontline workers and brings it in line with the Care Act 2014. It is intended to be used as a practical tool and does not seek to amend or replace existing statutory guidance that may be in place. The briefing will support the improvement in practice regarding safeguarding adults as well as safeguarding their carers.
This briefing sets out the LGA's response to different parts of the Government's adult social care white paper chapter by chapter. While we fully support and endorse the positive framing of social care in the white paper, we question whether the funding set out matches the Government’s level of ambition.